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6/23/2020 News & Commentary – Korea

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06.23.2020 at 12:51pm

News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.

1. N. Korea Threatens to Nuke U.S.

2. U.N. council adopts N.K. human rights resolution for 18th consecutive year 

3. N. Korean defectors’ group says it sent leaflets to North overnight

4. N. Korea completes setting up some 20 loudspeakers along border

5 N.K. paper says S. Korea’s pro-U.S. policies hinder inter-Korean relations

6. Trump threatened to pull troops if S. Korea didn’t give $5 bln: Bolton memoir

7. Defectors matter for the North Korean economy

8. North Korea blew up the liaison office and its relations with the South

9. Top secret US documents show Japanese civilians fought in Korean War

10. It may be called the ‘Forgotten War,’ but the Korean conflict set the stage for decades of tensions

11. Get the facts straight (Korea)

12. Tensions intensify on Korean Peninsula after Bolton memoir is released

13. New documents on Korean War seized from N. Korea released to public

14. Real cause of North-South Korea crisis: Covid-19

15. War aftermath set Pyongyang’s’ militarism in stone

16. N.Korean Summits Were a Sham

17. Mirim Parade Ground Upgrades Nearing Completion 

18. North Korean jailed for helping to supply S$404,000 worth of luxury goods from Singapore to North Korea

19. Revisiting International Cooperation on Illicit Trafficking by Sea: Indonesia and the Final Voyage of the M/V Wise Honest (Part I)

 

1. N.Korea Threatens to Nuke U.S.

english.chosun.com

What is this? A trial balloon? A provocative statement with “deniability?  But it is actually a rather bland statement and one we have heard many times.  But the headline is good for clickbait. This is coming from the north Korean embassy in Moscow and being reported by TASS.  Of course no statements like this are released with Kim Jong-un’s approval.  But I would not get too worked up over this.  This is business as usual especially as we approach the 70th. anniversary of the Korean War this week.

 

2. U.N. council adopts N.K. human rights resolution for 18th consecutive year 

en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · June 22, 2020

Good.

We should keep in mind that human rights in north Korea is not only a moral imperative, it is also a national security issue.  Kim Jong-un must systematically and comprehensively deny the human rights of the Korean people living in the north to prevent any resistance and ensure his survival and that of the Kim family Regime.

We should also note that every time we talk about the regime’s nuclear program we are enhancing the legitimacy of the regime.  However when we talk about human rights it not only undermines the legitimacy of the regime, it is a direct threat to the survival of the regime.  We should sustain pressure on the regime with human rights demands.

And note the counter accusations the regime made. 

 

3. N. Korean defectors’ group says it sent leaflets to North overnight

en.yna.co.kr · by 박보람 · June 23, 2020

Good work escapees.  I hope they do not face retribution from either the local or national government.  It is amazing they have to conduct “covert operations” to do this important work.

 

4. N. Korea completes setting up some 20 loudspeakers along border

en.yna.co.kr · by 최수향 · June 23, 2020

Again this is mirror imaging.  The regime is telling us information is a threat to the regime.  I guess they do not realize north Korean information is no threat to the ROK government and has no influence over the Korean people in the  South other than for “entertainment” and satire and ridicule of the regime’s efforts.  This illustrates how clueless is the regime.

 

5. N.K. paper says S. Korea’s pro-U.S. policies hinder inter-Korean relations

en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · June 22, 2020

No clearer indication is necessary than this.  The regime wants to split the ROK/US alliance. ” Divide to conquer” – divide the alliance to conquer the ROK.

It is interesting that they criticized the MOFA/State strategy working group.  This was recently criticized in the South Korean press.  We should know the regime reads everything in the Korean media (and everything in the international media that concerns north Korea).

The best counter to the regime’s strategy? Strengthen the ROK/US alliance.

 

6. Trump threatened to pull troops if S. Korea didn’t give $5 bln: Bolton memoir 

en.yna.co.kr · by 이해아 · June 22, 2020

No surprise here.  But Bolton’s book is going to be used by anti-American political groups (and most likely north Korea) to split the ROK US alliance.  

It is no surprise that President Trump has a completely transactional view of alliances and assesses alliances based on the bottom line on a balance sheet.  But the Bolton book will be exploited. 

I wonder if Bolton’s book will reveal how the $5 billion number was determined.

 

7. Defectors matter for the North Korean economy

nkeconwatch.com  · by Benjamin Katzeff Silberstein

This is an important analysis.  If remittances can get to families in the north, so can information. 

As the article indirectly points out, if we were creative we would work with escapees to develop a network to sponsor families in north Korea.  You see the advertisements on the TV – for $19.95 a month you can feed a starving child in an impoverished nation.  

We could provide direct help to families from people living in the South and the US.  More remittances would improve market economic activity and of course better the lives of many Koreans living in the north (and undermine the regime).

 

8. North Korea blew up the liaison office and its relations with the South 

japantimes.co.jp · by Thomas Cynkin · June 22, 2020

I agree that we will see increased tensions and possibly even violent provocations aimed at the South in the coming months. But we cannot rule out an October surprise either, though we should try to make it clear that regardless of the “surprise,” short of war it will have no impact on the outcome of the US election.

 

9. Top secret US documents show Japanese civilians fought in Korean War

mainichi.jp

In all my studies I have never come across such a story.  I know many Korea soldiers were trained in Japan during the war as we established training bases there to build the ROK Army.  As noted, Japan provided logistical support. (And in fact the Japanese economy was rejuvenated because of the Korean War.)

My thought initially was perhaps these Japanese personnel had some important and unique technical skills but then I read about the ages of some – teenagers and a 9 year old and a 12 year old? I just cannot imagine why we would do that.  

I did a quick search through the GWU National Security Archive and I could not find any relevant documents.  I wish the author had provided a link.

This is a very strange story.  I can understand why the Japanese would be upset about it. I just cannot imagine us needing or wanting to employ “child soldiers” which I think is the implication.  Of course I know the Koreans employed teenagers but Korea was fighting for its life.

 

10. It may be called the ‘Forgotten War,’ but the Korean conflict set the stage for decades of tensions

Stars and Stripes

A short piece on the Korean War as we move toward the 70th Anniversary of the start of the war this week.

 

11. Get the facts straight (Korea)

koreajoongangdaily.joins.com

Bolton’s book is having an effect on the alliance but is also being used to criticize the Moon Administration.  The Joongang Ilbo editorial board makes a very strong accusation against the South National Security Advisor Chung  Eui-yong saying that if Bolton’s account is correct Chung “cheated the United States.”

 

12. Tensions intensify on Korean Peninsula after Bolton memoir is released

donga.com ·  June 23, 2020

It will be interesting to see how the north exploits the stories in Bolton’s book.  How will they do this?  Will they confirm some of the allegations or north Korean intent as part of their propaganda messaging?

The final line of this article is ominous – will the “mud fight” between Chung and Bolton undermine trust between the Blue House and the White House?

 

13. New documents on Korean War seized from N. Korea released to public

en.yna.co.kr · by 최수향 · June 23, 2020

This could be very useful to refute the revisionist historians who want to blame the US for starting the Korean War.  This appears to be  some very fascinating information that researchers and scholars may use to write new histories of the Forgotten War.

 

14. Real cause of North-South Korea crisis: Covid-19

asiatimes.com · by Daniel Sneider · June 23, 2020

A fascinating thesis and important analysis in this essay.

My sense (and this has been reported by Korea and economic experts so this is not an original thought) is the Coronavirus defense measures (draconian population and resources control measures) have had a greater effect on the suffering of the Korean people in the north than sanctions.  What that means is that sanctions are not focused on harming the Korean people but on preventing the regime from getting money and luxury goods and materials and technology for its nuclear and missile programs as well as interrupt the regime’s global illicit activities.  The suffering of the Korean people is a result of Kim Jong-un policy decisions and not on UN and US sanctions.

We should think about what this means for stability in north Korea, both among the military and the general population.

 

15. War aftermath set Pyongyang’s’ militarism in stone

asiatimes.com · by Bradley K. Martin · June 23, 2020

I love Bradley Martin’s subtitle to this article.

The Korean war may be forgotten around the world but it is never far from the minds of the regime and the Koreans living in the north. I do not think we can understand  and appreciate the impact of US air power on north Korea and the devastation of nearly every city and major town in north Korea during the war.  These memories and images are used to indoctrinate Koreans from the youngest age (I love their math problems – You see four murderous American bastards and you shoot and kill two how many murderous American bastards do you have left to kill?)

This essay provides a walk through history from the Korean War to the Pueblo to see the path of the north’s militarism.

 

16. N.Korean Summits Were a Sham

english.chosun.com

Three major newspapers, The Chosun Ilbo, The Donga Ilbo, and the Joongang Ilbo, have used the Bolton book to severely criticize the Mono administration’s diplomacy.

 

17. Mirim Parade Ground Upgrades Nearing Completion 

38north.org · by Peter Makowsky · June 22, 2020

This is illustrative of the bankrupt policy decisions of Kim Jong-un.  To commit the resources to refurbish the parade grounds and then spend months committing military and civilian personnel to prepare for a military parade while the Korean people are suffering severe hardships because of the economic downturn and the response to the coronavirus is an illustration of both the incompetence and evil nature of the regime.

 

18. North Korean jailed for helping to supply S$404,000 worth of luxury goods from Singapore to North Korea

channelnewsasia.com

Small victories.  Singapore has long been a conduit for funds and luxury to get to the regime.

 

19. Revisiting International Cooperation on Illicit Trafficking by Sea: Indonesia and the Final Voyage of the M/V Wise Honest (Part I)

opiniojuris.org · Arron N. Honniball · June 23, 2020

For those who track north Korean sanctions and illicit shipping.  I will watch for part two.

 

————

 

“Anybody can be angry, but to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, that is not easy.”  

– Aristotle

 

“Living beings everywhere compete for the means of existence. Competition takes the more intense form we call conflict when … contenders try to hamper, disable, or destroy rivals.” 

– Jack Hirshleifer, The Handbook of Defense Economics, vol 1,  Keith Hartley and Todd Sandler, (eds).

 

“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out… without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” 

– H. L. Mencken

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